Australian Open 2026: Alcaraz, new era and the same dream: Australia | Tennis | Sports

Circumstances of life, Carlos Alcaraz landed last Sunday in Melbourne accompanied by his greatest rival, Jannik Sinner, but without the company of his until recently coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero. The Italian is still and will always be there, while the Valencian is still digesting a painful breakup that – having reached the top and 24 titles, six of them big – and that suddenly shook a circuit that until now was waiting expectantly for the Murcian’s explanations, beyond the statement issued on December 17. Alcaraz spoke within the framework of the media day and did not want to go into depth or reveal any details, but rather turn the page. “It’s something internal, something ours,” he said. It simply had to be that way, he emphasizes.

The tennis player’s career, like that of every athlete, responds to cycles and the number one understands that his and Ferrero’s. “In life there are stages that must be closed,” he said on Friday. The coach does not perceive it in the same way, who after confirming his departure from the team revealed a series of differences in contractual terms as the origin of the professional separation. Since then, each one has gone their own way, although Alcaraz assures that the friendship has not been broken and reiterated his gratitude. “Thanks to him, in large part, I am the player I am today. I learned a lot, but we both decided to close that chapter on good terms. We felt that this was the moment. We decided it mutually,” he explained.

Based on what Ferrero told him and his immediate reaction – “he’s very screwed,” a person close to him portrayed – it is deduced that the maneuver was born from the side of the tennis player, now surrounded by a circle practically identical to the usual one. In Melbourne he is accompanied by his father and brother Álvaro, his usual friends and the same preparatory team. All of them are aware that substitution entails a risk, since a bad result in the first big game of the season would be associated with the absence of the hitherto starter, at the same time that it would reinforce the idea of ​​those who think that the left hand of Samuel López, the chosen one, requires another piece on the bench with media prominence (supercoachin slang).

Despite the turn, Alcaraz is perceived in the same line as always, smiling and calm, at the same time hungry for a goal that he had marked in red for a year ago. In the face of anxiety, the one from El Palmar tends to grow and what he sees ahead stimulates him greatly. If he wins on February 1, Alcaraz (22 years old) would become the youngest player in the Open Era (starting in 1968) who manages to collect the four major trophies on the shelf. The American Donald Badge did it at 22, but those were different times (1938) and in the modern era the most precocious, who closed the circle at 24 years old in 2010.

Apart from the Mallorcan, only Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have the great clover of tennis, so the Murcian, who loves challenges, approaches the latter with extra motivation. He was able to do it last year, but he still managed to cut off his pace by trade. It happened again in the quarters, his limit in Melbourne. Today, the Serbian’s mastery is no longer enough. The order has changed and after repeating at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, with a double per stage, Alcaraz hopes to soon add another notch that would resize him again in historical terms.

delicate date

“As I already said, this is my main goal for this year,” he said. “I think I have made good decisions to arrive in shape [rodaje y más rodaje en Murcia, un par de exhibiciones luego y ningún torneo preparatorio] and I am hungry for the title,” he anticipates. “I have a lot of confidence in the people around me now and everything has gone very well. We have not changed the routine and we continue with the same plan, but trying to improve some specific aspects. Only one member missing [Ferrero]”, the rest remains the same,” concluded the world leader, who in November made it clear that he preferred to win in Australia than win two more. majors in the three remaining scenarios, such as in 2025.

However, if the number rose to three, the story would perhaps change: “Of course, three Grand Slams are three Grand Slams… I must think about the answer calmly, I will answer it later.” And there, on the horizon of the landscape, appears the name of the place. They will confront each other on Sunday, in the last shift of the day (around 10:30 Spanish time). “I have already played against him [victoria en Queen’s] and I’m trying to put myself in a position now,” he anticipates; “debuting in a first match and against an Australian… People will be on their side, that’s for sure, but I really want to start the tournament and the competition. I’ve seen who’s going a little on my side [del cuadro]but I try not to pay too much attention to it.”

Although the circumstance is not new, due to the fact that four of the eight trophies obtained last season came with López in the boxalone, Alcaraz faces a delicate appointment in which he no longer has the advice of Ferrero and will be judged based on the discard. He assumes it. , it is necessary to maintain the tone of the latter without the emotional support or the continued demand of the Valencian, the man who pressured him and served as a compass to reach the formidable version of today. “We are still friends, we have a good relationship. We simply decided to take different paths,” he closes on the verge of a major examination.